Quasi-2D Finite Volume Modeling of Corona Discharges for Ionic Propulsion: Comparison of Reduced Reaction Schemes

In this work the effects of different plasma kinetic models on the results of a corona discharge simulation are investigated. The discharge model is based on the time dependent drift-diffusion approximation and uses a quasi-2D finite volume approach. Simulations are carried out considering a wire-to-wire geometry, in which the electrode radii and their distance have been fixed. The electric current, number densities and the electro-hydro-dynamic force yielded by different treatments of the chemical source term in the continuity equation are compared. We find that the employed kinetic model has a significant impact on the computed electro-hydro-dynamic force. This is particularly important to accurately predict the performance of plasma devices for aerospace applications, such as ionic thrusters.